CPJ Impact

December 29, 2011 10:09 AM ET

News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, December 2011

The year in press
freedom

This year was marked by a wave of anti-press violence as
social unrest stirred millions into action. Journalists from Belarus to Egypt
and Mexico to Beijing continued exposing the truth despite being attacked for
their reporting.

The Committee to Protect Journalists' thorough documentation
and high-level advocacy helped to ensure that you heard the stories of the journalists
silenced by violence,
muted by torture,
cowed into self-censorship,
or suppressed by exile.
On the front lines and online--we persevered in the fight to preserve freedom of
the press and our collective right to be informed.

CPJ's achievements in 2011 are highlighted below, and as we
celebrate 30 years of fighting for press freedom, your support is still as
vital as our mission. An excerpt of this inspiring documentary about CPJ's
three decades of impact will show you the importance of your year-end gift as, despite much
success, press freedom remains under threat.

69 journalists
released

In 2011, CPJ visited
imprisoned journalists and ensured their stories made headlines. Our advocacy contributed
to the early release from prison of at least 69 journalists. Yet our annual census of journalists in prison shows that the task
ahead is arduous: The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide reached
a 15-year high in 2011, driven by repressive states seeking to choke the flow
of information.

One journalist who
won his liberty in 2011 is Eynulla Fatullayev from Azerbaijan, who was honored with CPJ's International
Press Freedom Award in 2009, while he was still in prison. CPJ and other
organizations worked relentlessly for his release, and in May, he was finally
freed. Fatullayev's case is a lesson that persistent advocacy can help to secure the release of many more
journalists in 2012.

CPJ identified 179 writers, editors, and
photojournalists behind bars on December 1, an increase of 34 from 2010.
Nearly half of those held were online journalists, while about 45 percent of
the imprisoned were freelancers. Iran tops the list for the second consecutive
year with 42 journalists in prison, followed by Eritrea (28), China (27), Burma
(12), and Vietnam (9).

CPJ investigates sexual violence

2011 was the year when journalists from all over the world
broke their silence on the sexual aggression they had endured in the course of
their work. Their accounts, detailed
in a report by CPJ, provide the most extensive documentation gathered thus
far on how sexual assault threatens press freedom worldwide.

Lauren Wolfe's report revealed instances of sexual
aggression in reprisal for reporting, mob-related sexual violence while
covering events, and sexual abuse of journalists in detention or captivity. The
groundbreaking report brought global press
coverage to the issue of sexual violence as a means to censor
journalists and also spurred public
discussion. As Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya, who was raped in
retaliation for her reporting, continues her legal
battle for justice, CPJ will continue to work so that preventive measures
can be taken.

The findings, published along with CPJ's expanded
security guidelines concerning sexual aggression, will form the basis for
further CPJ research in the coming year. A new security handbook will also be
published by CPJ in early 2012.

CPJ helps besieged press in Ivory Coast and beyond

In March, CPJ worked
with the Ivorian Committee for the Protection of Journalists and the U.N.
Mission in the Ivory Coast to evacuate 12 local journalists facing threats.
Eleven of them were able to return to Abidjan, the capital, by May. In 2011, at
least one journalist and two media workers were killed in the country, as a
political and military standoff ensued between then-incumbent President Laurent
Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara.

Hundreds of journalists worldwide have been forced
to leave their home countries to escape violence or persecution. Nowhere is
the problem more pronounced than in East Africa and the Horn of Africa, where
chaos, war, and the threat of jail have forced dozens of journalists to seek
refuge in neighboring countries. CPJ's Journalist Assistance program
has provided help in
covering medical expenses and other needs to more than 100 journalists in the
region in the past 18 months.

To find sustainable and cohesive solutions, CPJ, in
conjunction with the Rory Peck Trust, hosted a conference
in Nairobi in December to improve assistance to the region's journalists in
exile. Around 50 participants, including representatives of local and international
human rights organizations, press freedom groups, and journalists in exile,
gathered to consider better strategies for emergency assistance. In 2012, CPJ
will begin to implement new strategies and continue to improve the lives of
journalists fleeing for their safety.

Engaging the U.N.

Starting with the global
launch of Attacks on the Press at
the U.N. headquarters in February, CPJ worked to ensure that the United
Nations prioritized the promotion of press freedom throughout 2011. (A video of
our press conference can be viewed here.)
A highlight was the joint meeting between CPJ, Reporters Without Borders, and
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June in which the U.N. chief pledged
to make press freedom--particularly free expression online--a priority in his
second term.

In an ongoing battle with a coalition of civil society
organizations, UNESCO's executive board again deferred
action on the life sciences prize funded by Equatorial Guinea President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. CPJ and other groups have consistently voiced
their opposition to the prize, arguing that the country's record on human
rights, including press freedom, makes the prize incompatible with UNESCO's
mission. In the end, implementation of the prize was halted,
for a second time, and will be revisited in 2012.

All Cuban journalists
finally released

CPJ achieved a
victory in 2011 by helping win the release of all journalists imprisoned in
Cuba. The island nation was once tied with China for holding the largest number
of journalists behind bars. CPJ's in-depth reporting and tireless advocacy over
the course of eight years resulted in the release of 32 imprisoned journalists
in Cuba, with the last one freed this year on April 8. The freed journalists
have recounted stories of their imprisonment, liberation, and exile in a series
of first-person
stories on the CPJ Blog.

We know, however,
that these victories are incomplete until Cuban journalists are able to work
safely in their home country. In July, CPJ published a special report, "After
the Black Spring: Cuba's New Repression," on the significant challenges that remain. CPJ continues to work
through public and diplomatic channels to keep the pressure on Havana to reform
its media policies.

The right to cover
the Arab uprising

CPJ documented well
over 520 press freedom violations in the Middle East and North Africa--including
18 journalists killed while reporting on the wave of conflict and political
unrest. Events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and beyond
dramatically underscored the crucial role played by the media.

CPJ continues to
expose violations in these volatile environments and demand justice for those targeted while reporting to ensure
that media in countries transitioning to democracy are able to maintain their
independence. Our work has also helped journalists remain safe by alerting them
to specific dangers. For example, CPJ kept a tally of violations in Libya, while in Egypt and elsewhere, we reported on media outlets that were blocked during critical times. We advised citizen journalists on how to keep their online videos from
being removed, reported on the Syrian government's tacit approval of online attacks, and shed light on what was more broadly at stake for media in the uprisings. Most
recently, we intervened to ensure that journalists were able to obtain visas to report inside
Libya.

CPJ stands up for journalists in Pakistan

Pakistan is the deadliest
country for journalists for the
second consecutive year, with seven journalists killed in the line of duty in
2011, a toll that surpasses war-torn Libya. On May 3, World Press Freedom Day,
a CPJ delegation met with President
Asif Ali Zardari to raise concerns
over the growing number of targeted attacks on journalists in Pakistan and urge
his administration to ensure that journalists are free to report on sensitive
issues. President Zardari committed to reverse his country's record of
impunity, but that challenge remains. In November, CPJ presented investigative
reporter Umar Cheema with an International
Press Freedom Award to honor his
courageous journalism and help draw wider attention to the dangers facing the
Pakistani press.

As threats against
Pakistani journalists continue, CPJ has kept up the pressure on Pakistani authorities to stop the
targeting of the press, and provided an international platform for those
journalists in peril to expose the fear being perpetrated. CPJ provided safety guidelines, and our Journalist Assistance Program also
worked to help those who have gone into hiding or need urgent relocation or trauma
counseling.

Russia makes halting progress in battle against impunity

CPJ has conducted a
series of missions to Russia to draw attention to the high rate of impunity for journalist murders.
We are finally making headway after years of official denial and indifference.

In September 2010,
after meeting with our delegation, the head of Russia's Investigative
Committee, responsible for probing the most serious crimes, pledged to pursue
all 19 cases documented by CPJ. This year, prosecutors won a landmark
conviction in the 2009 murder of Anastasiya
Baburova, a freelance reporter with
the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
In May, authorities arrested the alleged gunman suspected of murdering
journalist Anna
Politkovskaya in Moscow in 2006.
The gunman's indictment marks a renewed attempt to prosecute the Politkovskaya
case.

CPJ's Europe and
Central Asia Program Coordinator conducted a three-month extended mission to
Russia this summer, where she pursued independent investigations in strategic
cases and worked in close consultation with local journalists, lawyers, and
human rights defenders. The rate of journalist murders appears to be on the
decline, though one journalist was assassinated in December, which shows the violence is not
over.

Seeking justice for
those killed in 2011

At CPJ, fallen journalists are not forgotten. Political
conflict and unrest proved deadly for the press in 2011, and governments failed
to prosecute those who targeted reporters for their work, CPJ research showed.

At least 43 journalists were killed worldwide in direct
relation to their work this year. Seven deaths occurred in Pakistan, where 29
journalists have been killed in the past five years. Libya and Iraq, each with
five fatalities, and Mexico, with three deaths, also ranked high worldwide for
journalism-related fatalities. Regionally, most deaths occurred in the Middle
East, where 18 journalists perished this year, many while covering the
uprisings that swept the Arab world.

Whether in meetings with the presidents of Mexico
and Pakistan--countries
where impunity in cases of killed journalists prevail--or through discussions
with the United Nations and regional bodies, CPJ has consistently advocated for
justice and carried out preventive measures to counter the assassination of
journalists.

CPJ is grateful for the generous grant and matching funds
provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation which makes possible our
Global Campaign Against Impunity.

Fighting online
oppressors

Marking World Press
Freedom Day on May 3, CPJ's special report, "10
Tools of Online Oppressors,"
revealed how censorship is evolving in the digital age. Although governments still
rely on old-fashioned methods to silence dissent (about half of all imprisoned journalists
were targeted for their online reporting), CPJ continues to assist journalists with
countering increasingly sophisticated tactics online.

In September, CPJ
convened an Online Press Freedom Summit in San Francisco to raise awareness among
Silicon Valley leaders about the crucial role they play in safeguarding freedom
and privacy online. The participants included technology company executives,
investors, and engineers--together with journalists and activists working on the
front lines of conflict and political change. Syrian activist Rami Nakhle
delivered the most compelling message
at the summit when he reported that dozens of people had been interrogated in
Syria over their Facebook accounts, and that 17 of his colleagues were
imprisoned or missing.

On global expansion

CPJ enjoys greater
influence and more international reach than ever before. In keeping with the
required evolution 30 years after our founding, CPJ's international network of
correspondents has grown significantly in 2011 and now includes team members in
Mexico City, Bogotá, São Paulo, Moscow, Istanbul, Dakar, Nairobi, Bangkok, and
Hong Kong. We also have advocacy
representatives in London and Brussels.

Upcoming events

CPJ's comprehensive global guide to press freedom, Attacks on
the Press, will be launched in February. Published annually since 1995,
the book contains expert analyses of the key factors obstructing a free press.
The 2011 edition includes CPJ's thoroughly documented data on killed,
imprisoned, and exiled journalists. Thematic highlights include the evolution
of censorship as a transnational violation in a globalized information age;
early lessons for the Arab revolutions; the trap of Internet crime laws; state
media as an anti-press tool; fixers on the frontlines in Afghanistan; Europe's
lagging press freedom leadership; and the sacrifice of press freedom in the
name of development. See our events
page in January for more details.

Donate

CPJ's Distress Fund provides emergency grants to journalists
facing persecution for their work. Support our work and give an end-of-year gift today.

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